Musical lawn sprinkler

ABSTRACT

A musical lawn sprinkler providing a cool, refreshing and entertaining device for smaller children during the hot summer months for play, watering the lawn, and watering other vegetation, the sprinkler having a base on which is mounted a housing containing a rotating impeller driven by water coming into the housing, the water being directed upwardly therefrom through a sleeve surrounding a shaft driven by the impeller with the water being discharged through the top of the sprinkler, the shaft rotatably driving a wagon wheel shaped plate having a series of radially extending wires forming the spokes thereof, the wires adapted to excessively engage stationary spring steel tines to emit a high pitched entertaining melody.

United States Patent [191 Ochs [ Mar. 25, R975 MUSICAL LAWN SPRINKLER [76] Inventor: Cyril C. Ochs, 3246 LaClede Ave.,

Los Angeles, Calif. 90039 [22] Filed: June 7, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 477,333

[52] US. Cl. 239/240, 46/52 [51] Int. Cl B05b 3/04 [58] Field of Search 239/240, 16; 46/56, 52

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,720,374 7/1929 Mowbray 239/240 2,670,992 3/1954 Long 239/240 2,970,774 2/1961 Li 239/240 Primary ExaminerLloyd L. King [57] ABSTRACT A musical lawn sprinkler providing a cool, refreshing and entertaining device for smaller children during the hot summer months for play, watering the lawn, and watering other vegetation, the sprinkler having a base on which is mounted a housing containing a rotating impeller driven bywater coming into the housing, the water being directed upwardly therefrom through a sleeve surrounding a shaft driven by the impeller with the water being discharged through the top of the sprinkler, the shaft rotatably driving a wagon wheel shaped plate having a series of radially extending wires forming the spokes thereof, the wires adapted to exce'ssively engage stationary spring steel tines to emit a high pitched entertaining melody.

8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1 MUSICAL LAWN SPRINKLER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to lawn sprinkling devices and more particularly to a novel musical lawn sprinkling device having a musical attachment providing a musical sound during operation of the sprinkler for the entertainment of smaller children. i

2. Description of the Prior Art The use of a lawn sprinkler by children during hot 7 months has long been popular with the children entertaining themselves by playing and running through the sprinkler in a manner providing a cool and refreshing fun filled time during the hot summer months. In view of such popularity of a childs use of a sprinkler in this manner, it has been known in the prior art to provide sprinklers representing various comiccharacters, sprinkling posts and shower type devices, and the like all adapted to provide a spray of water for the children to play in.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a novel sprinkling device for use in a normal sprinkling manner as well as to be used in a manner providing enjoyable musical tones during the operation thereof for the entertainment of small children playing in the spray therefrom, the sprinkler including spring steel tines successively engaged by a series of spoke like wires to produce a high pitched melody during operation of the sprinkler.

It is a feature of the present invention to provide a musical lawn sprinkler.

A further feature of the present invention provides a musical lawn sprinkler wherein the rotative forces necessary for the operation thereof are obtained directly from the force of water directed into the sprinkler through a conventional garden hose or the like with the water effecting the rotary drive before being dispensed in a spray pattern from the sprinkler.

A further feature of the present invention provides a musical lawn sprinkler which is relatively simple in its construction and which therefore may be readily manufactured at a relatively low cost and by simple manufacturing methods so as to be retailed at a sufficiently low price to encourage its widespread use.

Still a further feature of the present invention provides a musical lawn sprinkler which is possessed of few parts and which therefore is unlikely to get out of order; and one which is of a rugged and durable construction and which therefore may be guaranteed by the manufacturer to withstand many years of intended usage.

Still yet a further feature of the present invention provides a musical lawn sprinkler which is easy to use and reliable and efficient in operation such that it may be readily operated by smaller younger aged children without requiring adult supervision or guidance.

Other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, andin which like reference characters are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the musical lawn sprinkler of the present inventionj FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along Line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along Line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of some components of the sprinkler; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the top portion of the sprinkler illustrating the inversion of the head portion'to provide for the sprinkler spray to cover a wider area thereabout.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings in detail there is illustrated a preferred form ofa musical lawn sprinkler constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and designated generally in its entirety by the reference numeral 10 and which is comprised of a base 11 having a hollow housing 12 mounted thereon containing a rotary impeller 13 inwardly thereof and drivingly connected at its axis to a rod 14 projecting vertically upwardly therefrom through a surrounding tubular sleeve 15, the sleeve 15 having a pair of spring wired tines 16 supported at the top end thereof and projecting into the path of metal wire spokes of wagon wheel shaped member 18 which is fixed to shaft 14 for rotation therewith, the peripheral edges of member 18 connected about the circular base of hollow cone shaped head member 19 affixed at its apex 20 to the top end of shaft 14 with wing nut 21 retaining the same thereon.

The base 11 consists of'a horizontal base member 31 having a plurality of inclined legs 32 projecting downwardly and outwardly therefrom adapted to support the sprinkler 10 on the ground 33. The base may be manufactured out of metal, hard rubber, plastic, or any other suitable satisfactory material providing an aesthetically pleasing and refined appearance.

Mounted centrally on the top surface of the base member 31 is the hollow housing 12 which is preferably of a cylindrical configuration having cylindrical side walls 35 interconnecting top surface 36 and bottom surface 37 and defining interiorly thereof a compartment 38. A water intake valve 39 is affixed to a portion of side wall 35 in communication with interior compartment 38 and is adapted to have attached to the projecting free end thereof a conventional garden hose 40 for directing water into compartment 38. The top surface 36 of compartment 38 is defined by a baffle plate the shaft is rotatably driven upon rotation of the impeller. In the preferred embodiment the shaft has a diameter of about five-eighths of an inch.

The tubular sleeve 15 is disposed concentric with shaft 14 completely surrounding the same and extending longitudinally therealong with its bottom end affixed to housing 12 and terminating in a top end 55, the

sleeve defining interior Water passageway 56 therealong. The sleeve is preferably manufactured of plastic piping having a diameter of about one and one-quarter inches.

Affixed to the top end 55 of sleeving 15 is a stationarily mounted water outlet disc shaped plate 60 which is of a flat configuration and provided with a plurality of apertures 61 extending vertically therethrough and in communication with passageway 56, the plate completely covering the top end 55 of the sleeving. An opening 62 is provided centrally of plate 60 and extends vertically therethrough for receiving shaft 14 therethrough.

Thespring metal tines are of a rectangular configuration projecting upwardly from a clamp 65 affixed to the top end portion of sleeving 15 and extending circumferally thereabout, each of the tines being disposed radially relative to the sleeving. It is to be understood that the clamp 65 may be formed integrally with sleeving 15 if so desired.

The member 18 is of a wagon-wheel spoke configuration having concentric inner and outer ring members 70 and 71 interconnected by radially extending metal wires 17 which arepreferably manufactured of stainless steel having a diameter of about 0.018 inches. The inner ring 70 is provided with a concentric center opening 73 therein which is affixed to shaft 14 for driving rotation therewith upon rotation of the shaft, and is positioned on the shaft in a manner such that the top edges of tines 16 project a slight distance through the member between the spokes 17 such that upon rotation of the member 18 the spokes will encounter the tines to emit a high pitched melody.

The member 18 is affixed to the shaft 14 by the outer ring 71 being affixed to the circular bottom edge of hollow conical member 19 terminating in an apex member 21 in the form of a ring shaped member adapted to fit onto the top edge 52 of shaft 14, the top end 52 having a threaded boss 53 projecting axially therefrom and onto which is adapted to be received wing nut 21 for securing the member 18 and conical member 19 in position thereon.

In operation, water flows throughs garden hose 40 and intake valve 39 into housing compartment 38 where it impinges on wings 46 to effect the rotation of impeller 13, the water being discharged through triangular cut-out 42 of baffle plate 41 from whence it passes through passageway 56 to be discharged through apertures 61 ofoutletplate 60. As seen in FIG. 1, the water then impinges on the interior surface of conical head portion 19 from whence it is deflected downwardly into a general conical shaped spray about the sprinkler 10.

The rotation of impeller'13 effects simultaneous rotation of shaft 14 which, in turn, drives conical member 19 affixed thereto which supports spoked member 18,

the rotation of the spoked member effecting successive engagement of the metal wire spokes 17 with spring metal tines 16 to produce a high pitched melody during the operation of the sprinkler.

Should it be desired to spray a larger area with the sprinkler and not produce music, then, as seen in FIG. 5, conical member 19 and attached plate 18 are inverted on shaft 14 with plate 18 then being affixed to top end 52 of shaft 14 and with apex ring 20 resting adjacent outlet plate 60. In this manner water discharged through outlet plate apertures 61 impinges on the inverted conical surface 19 from whence it is deflected outwardly into a larger spray area than before.

It is to be understood that the form of this invention herewith shownand described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that this invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction as to shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of the novel concepts thereof, or the scope of the sub-joined claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed l. A musical lawn sprinkler comprising:

a base member;

a hollow housing mounted on the top of the base member;

an impeller member rotatably mounted in said housing for rotation relative thereto;

a shaft having a top end and a bottom end, said bottom end being drivingly connected to said impeller with said top end projecting vertically upwardly therefrom;

a hollow tubular cylindrically shaped sleeve member disposed concentrically with said shaft and extending upwardly about a portion thereof from said housing;

a plurality of spring metal tine members associated with the top end portion of said sleeving and projecting upwardly relatively thereto;

a spoked disc member affixed concentrically to said shaft with said spokes projecting radially outwardly therefrom in a position adapted to successively engage said tine members upon rotation of said spokes; and

means affixing said spoked memberto said shaft for simultaneous rotation therewith.

2. The musical lawn sprinkler as set forth in claim I further characterized by a water outlet plate member affixed to said top end of said sleeving concentric with said shaft to'close said sleeving top end, and a pluratity of circumferally spaced apart radially disposed apertures provided in said water outlet plate in communication with the interior of said sleeving.

3. The musical lawn sprinkler as set forth in claim 2 wherein said housing is of a hollow cylindrical configuration having a horizontal top surface, a horizontal bottom surface affixed to said base member, and cylindrical side walls, a circular compartment defined interiorly of said housing, a water intake valve having one end affixed to a housing side wall with the opposite end extending outwardly therefrom, said valve having a passageway extending therethrough in communication with said housing compartment.

4. The musical lawn sprinkler as set forth in claim 3 wherein said impeller comprises a cylindrically shaped collar member having an interior cylindrical passageway extending therethrough, and a plurality of flat rect angularly shaped wing members projecting radially outwardly from circumferally spaced apart points on said exterior of said collar member, said impeller rotatably mounted about a vertical axis concentric in said housing compartment with the outermost edges of said wing members in close proximity to the interior side wall surfaces of said compartment such that water entering said compartment through said valve impinges on said wing members to effect the rotation of said impeller.

5. The musical lawn sprinkler as set forth in claim 4 further comprising an opening in said housing top surface. a flat washer shaped baffle plate affixed to said top surface overlying said opening, said baffle plate having a central aperture for passage of said shaft axially therethrough, and a triangular segment cut-out in said baffle plate positioned diametrically opposite said valve inlet to said housing compartment and adapted to discharge water from said compartment into said sleeving after said water has acted on said impeller.

6. The musical lawn sprinkler as set forth in claim 5 wherein said spoked member is of a wagon wheel configuration having inner and outer concentric rings spaced radially apart from each other, a plurality of metal wire spokes extending radially between said inner and outer rings to interconnect the same, an opening centrally of said inner ring to receive saidshaft axially therethrough.

7. The musical lawn sprinkled as set forth in claim 6 wherein said means fastening said spoked element to said shaft comprises a hollow conically shaped head portion having a circular base edge and an apex top end, said base edge affixed to a top surface of said spoked member outer ring, and said apex end adapted to be supportively received on said top end of said shaft, an aperture extending axially through said apex end, a threaded boss extending axially from said shaft top end, said aperture adapted to be received over said boss when said apex is resting on said shaft top end, and a wing nut threadedly received on said threaded boss member to detachably retain said conical head portion and attached spoked member to said shaft for simultaneous rotation therewith.

8. The musical lawn sprinkler as set forth in claim 7 further comprising a bracket affixed about the circumferal top end portion of said sleeving, and said tine members being equally spaced about the circumference of said bracket and projecting vertically upright from a top surface of said bracket to project into the plane defined by said wire spokes of said spoked member such that rotation of said spoked member effects successive engagement of said spokes with said tines to emit a high pitched melody. 

1. A musical lawn sprinkler comprising: a base member; a hollow housing mounted on the top of the base member; an impeller member rotatably mounted in said housing for rotation relative thereto; a shaft having a top end and a bottom end, said bottom end being drivingly connected to said impeller with said top end projecting vertically upwardly therefrom; a hollow tubular cylindrically shaped sleeve member disposed concentrically with said shaft and extending upwardly about a portion thereof from said housing; a plurality of spring metal tine members associated with the top end portion of said sleeving and projecting upwardly relatively thereto; a spoked disc member affixed concentrically to said shaft with said spokes projecting radially outwardly therefrom in a position adapted to successively engage said tine members upon rotation of said spokes; and means affixing said spoked member to said shaft for simultaneous rotation therewith.
 2. The musical lawn sprinkler as set forth in claim 1 further characterized by a water outlet plate member affixed to said top end of said sleeving concentric with said shaft to close said sleeving top end, and a pluratity of circumferally spaced apart radially disposed apertures provided in said water outlet plate in communication with the interior of said sleeving.
 3. The musical lawn sprinkler as set forth in claim 2 wherein said housing is of a hollow cylindrical configuration having a horizontal top surface, a horizontal bottom surface affixed to said base member, and cylindrical side walls, a circular compartment defined interiorly of said housing, a water intake valve having one end affixed to a housing side wall with the opposite end extending outwardly therefrom, said valve having a passageway extending therethrough in communication with said housing compartment.
 4. The musical lawn sprinkler as set forth in claim 3 wherein said impeller comprises a cylindrically shaped collar member having an interior cylindrical passageway extending therethrough, and a plurality of flat rectangularly shaped wing members projecting radially outwardly from circumferally spaced apart points on said exterior of said collar member, said impeller rotatably mounted about a vertical axis concentric in said housing compartment with the outermost edges of said wing members in close proximity to the interior side wall surfaces of said compartment such that water entering said compartment through said valve impinges on said wing members to effect the rotation of said impeller.
 5. The musical lawn sprinkler as set forth in claim 4 further comprising an opening in said housing top surface, a flat washer shaped baffle plate affixed to said top surface overlying said opening, said baffle plate having a central aperture for passage of said shaft axially therethrough, and a triangular segment cut-out in said baffle plate positioned diametrically opposite said valve inlet to said housing compartment and adapted to discharge water from said compartment into said sleeving after said water has acted on said impeller.
 6. The musical lawn sprinkler as set forth in claim 5 wherein said spoked member is of a wagon wheel configuration having inner and outer concentric rings spaced radially apart from each other, a plurality of metal wire spokes extending radially between said inner and outer rings to interconnect the same, an opening centrally of said inner ring to receive said shaft axially therethrough.
 7. The musical lawn sprinkled as set forth in claim 6 wherein said means fastening said spoked element to said shaft comprises a hollow conically shaped head portion having a circular base edge and an apex top end, said base edge affixed to a top surface of said spoked member outer ring, and said apex end adapted to be supportively received on said top end of said shaft, an aperture extending axially throUgh said apex end, a threaded boss extending axially from said shaft top end, said aperture adapted to be received over said boss when said apex is resting on said shaft top end, and a wing nut threadedly received on said threaded boss member to detachably retain said conical head portion and attached spoked member to said shaft for simultaneous rotation therewith.
 8. The musical lawn sprinkler as set forth in claim 7 further comprising a bracket affixed about the circumferal top end portion of said sleeving, and said tine members being equally spaced about the circumference of said bracket and projecting vertically upright from a top surface of said bracket to project into the plane defined by said wire spokes of said spoked member such that rotation of said spoked member effects successive engagement of said spokes with said tines to emit a high pitched melody. 